Attorneys for Daniel Penny have collected more than $280,000 for a legal defense fund through a website that bills itself as a Christian fundraising platform and has supported several divisive right-wing cases.
The official fund, generated by law firm Raiser & Kenniff, P.C. which is representing Penny, had raised more than $283,000 as of 11 a.m. Friday. Penny’s lawyers confirmed they set up the fund on GiveSendGo, and said it launched earlier this week.
Like many crowdsourcing sites, GiveSendGo supports various causes, such as medical bills and funeral expenses. It has promoted itself as “The #1 Free Christian Fundraising Site” and has also hosted funds for the Jan. 6 defendants and Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of homicide after killing two people during a 2020 protest in Wisconsin.
Penny is seen in video footage choking Jordan Neely, a homeless man, on an F train headed uptown in early May as other passengers held Neely down. The city medical examiner said Neely died by strangulation and deemed his death a homicide.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office announced Thursday it would be charging Penny with manslaughter and he surrendered to police on Friday morning. He is expected to be arraigned on Friday afternoon.
“Daniel Penny is a 24-year-old college student and decorated Marine veteran, facing a criminal investigation stemming from him protecting individuals on a NYC subway train from an assailant who later died,” the fund description reads. “Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny’s legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense.”
The fund notes that proceeds exceeding “those necessary to cover Mr. Penny’s legal defense will be donated to a mental health advocacy program in New York City,” though it does not specify which one. A fundraising goal is not listed on the GiveSendGo page.
As of Friday morning, the fund had received more than…
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